Overview

The 390F is built to give you the highest production with the lowest owning and operating costs in its size class. Not only does the machine’s C18 ACERT engine meet U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards, but it does so with all the power, efficiency, and reliability you need to succeed. Where the real power comes in is through the advanced hydraulic system and the new Adaptive Control System (ACS) valve. You can literally move tons of material all day long with a great deal of speed, precision, and efficiency. In fact, the 390F’s ACS valve and engine work together to increase production and significantly decrease fuel consumption compared to our 390D model. That means more work per unit of fuel for you. That’s fuel efficiency. When you add in a quiet operator environment that keeps you comfortable and productive, service points that make your routine maintenance quick and easy, and multiple Cat work tools that help you do a number of jobs very well, you simply won’t find a better, more productive, more fuel-efficient machine in this size class.

Standards

Hydraulics

A Powerful, Efficient Design

When it comes to moving heavy material quickly and efficiently, you need hydraulic horsepower - the type of ground-breaking power the 390F can deliver. Major components like the pumps, main control valve, and oil tank are positioned to reduce the effects of heat and hydraulic sound level on operators. And they are close together so shorter tubes and lines can be used. All of this leads to less friction loss, reduced pressure drops, and more power to the ground for the tons of work you need to get done.

Control Like No Other

Controllability is one of the main attributes of Cat excavators, and one of the key contributors to this is the new ACS valve. The valve is designed to intelligently manage restrictions and flows. It opens slowly when your range of joystick lever movement is small and opens rapidly when movement is high. It puts flow exactly where you need it when you need it, which means you will experience much smoother operation, greater efficiency, and lower fuel consumption. The ACS valve also has a new automatic hydraulic oil warm-up function - a definite plus in putting your machine to work more quickly in cold weather conditions.

Auxiliary Hydraulics For Added Versatility

Auxiliary hydraulics give you greater tool versatility so you can take on more work with just one machine, and there are several options from which you can choose. A quick coupler circuit, for example, will allow you to switch from one tool to another in a matter of minutes - all from the comfort and convenience of the cab.

Engine

Proven Technology

Every U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final ACERT engine is equipped with a combination of proven electronic, fuel, air, and aftertreatment components. Applying these time-tested technologies lets us meet your high expectations for productivity, fuel efficiency, reliability, and service life. Following are the results you can expect:

An Emissions Solution That Works

The Cat C18 ACERT engine meets today’s U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards, and it does so without interrupting your job process. Simply turn the engine on and go to work. It will look for opportunities in your work cycle to regenerate itself, and it will give you plenty of power for the task at hand - all to help keep your owning and operating costs to an absolute minimum.

Fuel Savers That Add Up

The 390F consumes significantly less fuel than the previous series model, and two built-in features help contribute to that: automatic engine speed control and automatic engine idle shutdown. Automatic engine speed control lowers rpm when the machine doesn’t need it for work. Automatic engine idle shutdown turns the engine off when it’s been idling for more than a specified amount of time, which will lower fuel consumption, hour accumulation, and lead to extended service intervals and higher resale value. A choice of two power modes - high power and economy mode - lets you manage fuel consumption for the work at hand. Collectively, all of these benefits add up to reduced fuel consumption, reduced exhaust and sound emissions, reduced repair and maintenance costs, and increased engine life for you.

A Cool Design For Any Temperature

The 390F features a new side-by-side cooling system that allows you to put the machine to work in extremely hot and cold conditions. The system is completely separated from the engine compartment to reduce noise and heat. Plus it features easy-to-clean cores and a new variable-speed fan that reverses to blow out unwanted debris that may accumulate during your work day.

Biodiesel Not A Problem

The Cat C18 ACERT engine can run on B20 biodiesel fuel that meets ASTM 6751 standards - all to give you more potential fuel-saving flexibility.

Operator Station

A Safe, Quiet Cab

The all-new cab provides you with a safe working environment. It also contributes to your comfort because it’s attached to a reinforced frame with special viscous mounts that limit vibration and unnecessary sound. Add in special roof lining and sealing and you have a cab that’s as quiet as any of today’s top pickup trucks.

Comfortable Seat Options

Air suspension, heated, and cooled seat options are available. All seats include a reclining back, upper and lower slide adjustments, and height and tilt angle adjustments to meet your needs for maximum comfort.

A Cool & Warm Environment

Automatic climate control features multiple air outlets with filtered ventilation. Air flow surrounds you to make your work in either hot or cold weather more pleasant and productive.

Controls Just For You

Not only can the right and left joystick consoles be adjusted to improve your comfort and productivity during the course of a day, but the joystick levers themselves can be adjusted for gain and response. Gain is the relationship between the control lever stroke and cylinder speed, and response is the time elapsed from the moment the control lever is operated until the cylinder attains speed. The 390F has multiple gain and response settings to make the machine respond exactly how you want it to.

A Helpful Monitor

The LCD monitor is easy to see and navigate. Programmable in up to 42 languages to meet today’s diverse workforce, the monitor clearly displays critical information you need to operate efficiently and effectively. You can even change between the backhoe pattern or excavator control pattern right through the monitor. Plus it projects the image from the standard rearview camera to help you see what’s going on around you so you can stay safely focused on the job at hand.

Ample Storage & Auxiliary Power

Storage spaces are located in the front, rear, and side consoles of the cab. A drink holder accommodates a large mug with handle, and a shelf behind the seat stores large lunch or toolboxes. Two 12-volt power supply sockets are conveniently located near the key storage areas for charging your electronic devices like an MP3 player, a cell phone, or a tablet.

Structures & Undercarriage

Robust Frames

The 390F is a well-built machine designed to give you a very long service life. The upper frame has mountings made specifically to support the new heavy-duty cab; it’s also reinforced around areas that take on a lot of stress like the boom foot, skirt, and counterweight removal system. Massive bolts are used to attach the track frames to the body, and additional bolts are used to increase the machine’s digging forces, which leads to more productivity for you.

Durable Undercarriage

The 390F’s undercarriage contributes significantly to its outstanding stability and durability. Track shoes, links, rollers, idlers, and final drives are all built with long-lasting, high-tensile-strength steel. Cat Grease Lubricated Track 4 (GLT4) track link protects moving parts by keeping water, debris, and dust out and grease sealed in, which delivers longer wear life and reduced noise when traveling. Cat Positive Pin Retention 2 (PPR2) prevents looseness of the track pin in the track link, reduces stress concentrations, and eliminates pin walking for increased service life. Optional three-piece guide guards help maintain track alignment to improve the machine’s overall performance - whether you’re traveling on a flat, heavy bed of rock or a steep, wet field of mud.

Heavyweight Options

A 12.4 mt (13.6 t) counterweight - with or without removal device - is available to balance your work needs. Built with thick steel plates and reinforced fabrications to make it less susceptible to damage, the counterweight has curved surfaces that match the machine’s sleek, smooth appearance along with an integrated housing to help protect the standard rearview camera.

Integrated Technologies

Cat Connect makes smart use of technology and services to improve your job site efficiency. Using the data from technology-equipped machines, you’ll get more information and insight into your equipment and operations than ever before. Cat Connect technologies offer improvements in these key areas: Equipment Management - increase uptime and reduce operating costs. Productivity - monitor production and manage job site efficiency. Safety - enhance job site awareness to keep your people and equipment safe.

LINK Technologies

LINK technologies like Product Link™ wirelessly connect you to your equipment, giving you valuable insight into how your machine or fleet is performing. The system tracks location, hours, fuel usage, productivity, idle time, and diagnostic codes through the online VisionLink® interface so you can make timely, fact-based decisions to maximize efficiency, improve productivity, and lower operating costs.

GRADE Technologies

GRADE technologies like Cat Grade Control Depth and Slope combine digital design data and in-cab guidance to help operators work more productively and accurately with less rework. Real-time bucket tip positioning and cut and fill data on the standard cab monitor guide the operator to grade, saving money on fuel and materials. Easily upgrade to AccuGrade™ when 3D control is required.

Front Linkage

Booms & Sticks For Any Job

The 390F is offered with a range of booms and sticks. Each is built with internal baffle plates and is stress relieved for added durability, and each undergoes ultrasound inspection to ensure quality and reliability. Large box-section structures with thick, multi-plate fabrications, castings, and forgings are used in high-stress areas such as the boom nose, boom foot, boom cylinder, and stick foot to improve durability. Also, the boom nose pin retention method is a captured flag design for enhanced durability.

Three Types Available

Three types of booms and sticks are offered: heavy-duty (HD) reach, general purpose (GP), and mass excavation (ME). The 10 m (32'10") HD reach boom and two stick options provide the reach needed for deep digging and loading applications. Following are the two stick length options:

The 4.4 m (14'5") stick is ideal for general excavating and use with work tools. The 8.4 m (27'7") GP boom and two stick options offer you excellent all-around versatility for use with work tools and general excavation like multipurpose digging and loading. Following are the three stick length options:

The 3.4 m (11'2") stick provides higher bucket payloads for truck loading applications; it’s also a good choice with work tools.

The 2.92 m (9'7") stick delivers more digging force and higher bucket payloads; it’s also a good choice with work tools. The 7.25 m (23'9") ME boom and two stick options offer you enhanced performance in heavy-duty material like rock. They provide higher digging forces due to special boom and stick geometry, and bucket linkage and cylinders are built for greater durability. Following are the two stick length options offered:

The 3.4 m (11'2") stick is designed to provide high digging forces with a large bucket capacity.

The 2.92 m (9'7") stick is designed for the highest digging forces and maximum bucket capacity.

Talk to your Cat dealer to pick the best front linkage for your applications.

Attachments

Get The Most Out Of One Machine

If you have multiple tasks to get done in a typical work day, Caterpillar can help. The 390F is a versatile, big machine with a lot of power and performance. You can easily expand that performance by utilizing any of the variety of attachments offered by Cat Work Tools.

Change Jobs Quickly

A quick coupler brings the ability to quickly change attachments and switch from job to job. The Cat Pin Grabber coupler is the secure way to decrease downtime and increase job site flexibility and overall productivity.

Dig, Rip & Load

A wide range of buckets dig everything from basic top soil to extreme, harsh material like ore and high quartzite granite. Rip through rock as an alternative to blasting in quarries. High-capacity buckets load trucks in a minimum number of passes for maximum productivity.

Mining, Demolition & Scrap

Multi-processor attachments take your 390F into structure demolition jobs and processing the resulting debris. Shears with 360° rotation mount to the machine for processing scrap steel and metal.

Move & Handle Material

When your job requires steady material handling and loading of heavy construction debris, a contractor’s grapple is a good solution.

Set Your Machine Up For Maximum Profitability

Your Cat dealer can install hydraulic kits to properly operate all Cat Work Tool attachments, which will maximize the machine’s uptime and your profits. All Cat Work Tool attachments are supported by the same Cat dealer network as your Cat machine.

Serviceability

Convenient Access Built In

You can reach routine maintenance items like grease points at ground level and fuel and oil filters and fluid taps from the safety and convenience of the machine’s slip-resistant catwalks. Compartments feature wide service doors designed to help prevent debris entry, and they also securely latch in place to help make your service work simpler.

A Cool Design

The 390F features a new side-by-side cooling system with easy-to-clean cores and a new variable-speed fan that reverses to blow out unwanted debris that may accumulate during your work day.

A Fresh Idea

Selecting ventilation inside the cab allows outside air to enter through a fresh air filter. The filter is conveniently located on the side of the cab to make it easy to reach and replace, and it is protected by a lockable door that can be opened with the engine key.

Lube & Fuel Options

On-board electric lubricator and auto lube systems are available time-saving attachments. The on-board lubricator has a grease container, greasing pump, and a hose with nozzle to help you reach all the greasing points. The auto lube system will do the work for you. An electric refueling pump attachment is also available, and it allows you to refuel from other sources like a barrel or fuel reservoir when a fuel truck or regular fuel pump isn’t on site. The pump automatically shuts off when the fuel tank is full.

Other Service Benefits

The fuel tank’s drain cock makes it easy and simple for you to remove water and sediment during routine maintenance. Plus an integrated fuel level indicator pops up to help you reduce the possibility of fuel tank overfilling.

Safety

A Safe, Quiet Cab

The all-new cab provides you with a safe working environment. It also contributes to your comfort because it’s attached to a reinforced frame with special viscous mounts that limit vibration and unnecessary sound. Add in special roof lining and sealing and you have a cab that’s as quiet inside as any of today’s top pickup trucks.

Secure Contact Points

Multiple large steps will get you into the cab as well as a leg up to the catwalks and compartments. Extended hand and guard rails allow you to safely climb to the upper deck. Anti-skid plates on the catwalks, the surface of the upper structure, and the top of the storage box area reduce your slipping hazards in all types of weather conditions. And they can be removed for cleaning.

Great Views

Ample glass gives you excellent visibility out front and to the side, and the standard rearview camera gives you a clear field of view behind the machine through the cab monitor. The available split-configuration windshield features an upper window with handles that make it easy to slide and store above you and a lower window that can be removed and stored on the inside wall of the cab. An available one-piece windshield comes with a safety hammer to break it in case of an emergency. The large skylight also serves as an emergency exit and provides you with enhanced overhead visibility.

Smart Lighting

Halogen lights provide plenty of illumination. Cab and boom lights can be programmed to stay on for up to 90 seconds after the engine has been turned off to help you safely exit the machine. Optional High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights are available for enhanced night-time visibility.

Complete Customer Care

Worldwide Parts Availability

Cat dealers utilize a worldwide parts network to maximize your machines’ uptime. Plus they can help you save money with Cat remanufactured components.

Advice You Can Trust

What are the job requirements and machine attachments? What production is needed? Your Cat dealer can provide recommendations to help you make the right machine choices.

Financial Options Just For You

Consider financing options and day-to-day operating costs. Look at dealer services that can be included in the machine’s cost to yield lower owning and operating costs over time.

Support Agreements To Fit Your Needs

Cat dealers offer a variety of customer support agreements and work with you to develop a plan to meet your specific needs. These plans can cover the entire machine, including attachments, to help protect your investment.

Operating Techniques To Boost Your Profits

Improving operating techniques can boost your profits. Your Cat dealer has videos, literature, and other ideas to help you increase productivity. Caterpillar also offers simulators and certified operator training to help maximize the return on your investment.

What’s Best For You Today…And Tomorrow

Repair, rebuild, or replace? Your Cat dealer can help you evaluate the cost involved so you can make the best choice for your business.

Caterpillar Pays You Back

We're so sure of what you can do with 100+ new Cat® machines, we¹re putting money on it. Get more with new Cat machines: fuel consumption and parts availability guarantees, plus free monthly fleet reports.